The Geography Blog focusing on all things geography: human, physical, technical, space, news, and geopolitics. Also known as Geographic Travels with Catholicgauze!
Written by a former National Geographic employee who also proudly served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Saturday, March 10, 2007

Abu Omar al-Baghdadi Captured!

Abu Omar al-Baghdadi has been captured. He was the head of the Islamic State of Iraq, the al Qaeda founded group which has been promised the loyalty of al Qaeda in Iraq by Abu Ayyub al-Masri. At least nominally, al-Baghdadi was the highest ranking al Qaeda member in Iraq. He first entered Iraq in 2002 to setup terrorist training camps before the Coalition invasion in March 2003.

This is great news. The surge, at least in the short run, is working. Al Sadr has fled to Iran and now his militias are fractured and allowing Coalition troops to enter Sadr City. Terrorist attacks are down by a whopping eighty percent! To win the Iraqi and American armies must continue to run down targets and allow them no safe havens like Fallujah and Sadr City once were.

The news also has a sign of change. Unconfirmed reports that have reached Catholicgauze say the raid which captured al-Baghdadi was done by the Iraqi Army and not American forces. Go get them guys!